reason to select more than one wing was the manufacturing technology limitations.

A single wing usually has a longer wing span compared with two wings (with the same total area). Old manufacturing technology was not able to structurally support a long wing to stay level and rigid. With the advance in the manufacturing technology and also new aerospace strong materials; such as advanced light aluminum, and composite materials; this reason is not valid anymore. Another reason was the limitations on the aircraft wing span. Hence a way to reduce the wing span is to increase the number of wings. Thus, a single wing (that includes both left and right sections) is almost the only practical option in conventional modern aircraft. However, a few other design considerations may still force the modern wing designer to lean toward more than one wing. The most significant one is the aircraft controllability requirements. An aircraft with a shorter wing span delivers higher roll control, since it has a smaller mass moment of inertia about x axis. Therefore if you are looking to roll faster; one option is to have more than one wing that leads to a shorter wing span. Several maneuverable aircraft in 1940s and 1950s had biplane and even three wings. On the other hand, the disadvantages of an option other than monoplane include higher weight, lower lift, and pilot visibility limits. The recommendation is to begin with a monoplane, and if the design requirements were not satisfied, resort to higher number of wings.

5.3. Wing Vertical Location

One of the wing parameters that could be determined at the early stages of wing design process is the wing vertical location relative to the fuselage centerline. This wing parameter will directly influence the design of other aircraft components including aircraft tail design, landing gear design, and center of gravity. In principle, there are four options for the vertical location of the wing. They are: 1. 2. 3. 4. High wing Mid wing Low wing Parasol wing

a. High wing

b. Mid wing

c. Low wing

b. Parasol wing

Figure 5.3. Options in vertical wing positions

Wing Design 5